Elerson Smith will have more sacks than all first round pass rushers – aside from Jaelan Phillips
The main gripe with pass rushers in this year’s draft was that many of them were projects. While Azeez Ojulari was arguably considered the most NFL-ready of the group, Giants’ fourth rounder, Elerson Smith, was considered far from that.
The Northern Iowa product was dominant in college, but many questioned his level of competition and his size. Another thing that negatively affected Smith was none of his doing – the FCS postponing their season to the spring.
After his long layoff, it’s a guessing game if Smith’s dominant ability was legit – or an aberration. Still, the upside of his pass rushing prowess was too much for the Giants to pass up.
Playing time may be hard to come by for Smith – but if his abilities shine through, so will the snaps. The Giants passed on Kwity Paye, Gregory Rousseau and Joe Tryon in the first round – while they’re all great talents, they’ll be outshined by the team’s fourth round selection.